The Path of the Episcopal Church

Here we chronicle the events and their dates leading up to the "Walking Apart" of the US branch of the Anglican Communion from the main body of both the Communion and the Holy Catholic Church.

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The Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America (PECUSA) is also known as the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA), the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS), and The Episcopal Church (TEC).

The Timeline

1930Lambeth Conference passes Resolution 15, "The Life and Witness of the Christian Community - Marriage and Sex," making Anglicans the first major Christian body to approve artificial means of birth control.

1965-1966Heresy charges brought against Bishop James Pike, who had declared that “the Church’s classical way of stating what is represented by the doctrine of the Trinity is…not essential to the Christian faith”; Bishop Pike was censured, but there was no trial for heresy because the Church believed such a trial would give it an “oppressive image.” More information

1967 Weakening position on abortion appears to begin with 1967 General Convention Statement on Abortion.

1968 Membership in the Episcopal Church peaks (latest adjusted figures). By 2005 there is a net loss of around one million members.

1973 General Convention, allowing pastoral concern to trump Scriptural teaching, replaced its annulment canon with a canon allowing remarriage after divorce, not limiting such remarriage to those cases that might be argued from Scripture. More information

1979 Revised edition of the Book of Common Prayer approved (Second Reading) by resolution A133.

1979 General Convention of ECUSA approved Resolution A053, reaffirming traditional teaching on sexuality and morality, stating, “we believe it is not appropriate for this Church to ordain a practicing homosexual, or any person who is engaged in heterosexual relations outside of marriage." This has never been overturned by subsequent General Conventions.

1991 During General Convention, the House of Bishops rejects efforts to censure Bishop Righter and Bishop Haines for the ordinations they performed.

1994 General Convention of ECUSA approved Resolution C042 calling for preparation of a report considering rites for blessings of same-sex unions.

1994 Bishop Spong drafted the “Koinonia Statement” defining homosexuality as morally neutral and affirming support for the ordination of homosexuals in faithful sexual relationships (signed by 90 bishops and 144 deputies). See also Spong's 12 Theses.

July 2000 General Convention of ECUSA approved Resolution D039 acknowledging relationships other than marriage and existence of disagreement on the Church's teaching.

March 2001 Primates’ meeting in Kanuga, N.C., issued pastoral letter acknowledging estrangement in Church due to changes in theology and practice regarding human sexuality, and calling Communion to avoid actions that might damage “credibility of mission.”

April 2002 Primates’ meeting at Canterbury issued a report recognizing the responsibility for all bishops to be able to articulate the fundamentals of faith so as to maintain the Church in truth. See also: Appendix II to the report.

March 2003 The Theology Committee of the House of Bishops concluded that: "Because at this time we are nowhere near consensus in the Church regarding the blessing of homosexual relationships, we cannot recommend authorizing the development of new rites for such blessings. For these reasons, we urge the greatest caution as the Church continues to seek the mind of Christ in these matters." (Note: the full report appears to have been removed from the ECUSA web site.)

May 2003 Primates’ meeting in Brazil issued pastoral letter stating “The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke for us all when he said that it is through liturgy that we express what we believe, and that there is no theological consensus about same sex unions. Therefore, we as a body cannot support the authorisation of such rites.”

July 2003 In a letter to the Primates, the Archbishop of Canterbury warns that "certain decisions" on human sexuality could have "the effect of deepening the divide between Provinces"

July 2003 A gathering of over 60 worldwide Anglican leaders warns the General Convention of the Episcopal Church of the USA that, "should the Convention decide to confirm the election of Canon Gene Robinson as bishop or approve the blessing of same-sex unions or both, then we will convene within three months to confirm our view that ECUSA has thereby placed itself outside the boundaries of the Anglican Communion and that appropriate action will follow."

August 2003 The General Convention of the Episcopal Church defeated Resolution B001, which sought to affirm the authority of Scripture.

August 2003 The General Convention of the Episcopal Church voted to confirm Gene Robinson, a non-celibate, partnered homosexual man, as bishop of New Hampshire. The Archbishop of Canterbury responds, saying, "It is my hope that the church in America and the rest of the Anglican Communion will have the opportunity to consider this development before significant and irrevocable decisions are made in response," and calls for an extraordinary meeting of the primates in London during October.

August 2003 The General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved Resolution C051 recognizing blessings of same-sex unions as “within bounds of our common life.”

October 2003 Nearly 3,000 orthodox Episcopalians met in Dallas at A Place to Stand hosted by Christ Church Plano – received message of support from Cardinal Ratzinger, sent a strong message to Primates meeting.

October 2003 The statement released by the Primates of the Anglican Communion at the conclusion of their extraordinary meeting in Lambeth Palace states, in part, “If his consecration proceeds, we recognise that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy. In this case, the ministry of this one bishop will not be recognised by most of the Anglican world, and many provinces are likely to consider themselves to be out of Communion with the Episcopal Church (USA). This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level, and may lead to further division on this and further issues as provinces have to decide in consequence whether they can remain in communion with provinces that choose not to break communion with the Episcopal Church (USA).”

October 2004 Lambeth Commission releases the Windsor Report, reaffirming Lambeth Conference resolution 1.10 and the authority of Scripture as central to Anglican common life, and calls for moratoria on public rites of same-sex blessings as well as on the election and consent of any candidate to the episcopacy living in a same-sex union. Additional References

February 2005 Primates meet in Dromantine, Ireland, to collectively examine the Windsor Report and produce a Communiqué calling on ECUSA and Canada to “voluntarily withdraw” their representatives from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) until Lambeth 2008. Additionally the Primates requested a hearing at the June 2005 ACC meeting in which the two suspended churches (US & Canada) are to set out their thinking behind their recent actions.

March 2005 ECUSA House of Bishops meeting at Camp Allen, Texas, responds to the Windsor Report request for a moratorium on election and consent to the episcopacy of persons living in same-sex unions, instead “pledge(s) to withhold consent to the consecration of any person elected to the episcopate after the date hereof until the General Convention of 2006,” (In other words, “If I can't play my way, I'm not going to play at all, so there!”). See also: A word to the church.

April 2005 ECUSA Executive Council holds special meeting and, in a letter to the ACC, announces they will send their delegation to the June ACC meeting for observation but not official participation.

September 2005Church of Nigeria Synod votes to change its constitution, and “deleted all such references ... defining us with the See of Canterbury and replaced them with a new provision of Communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, ...”

October 2005 In its Communiqué The Third Anglican South-to-South? Encounter in Egypt issued a harsh indictment of ECUSA and Canada and called for a common “Anglican Covenant” among churches remaining true to Biblical Christianity and historic Anglicanism

February 2006 Global South Primates Steering Committee issues a communiqué reemphasizing the seriousness of the crisis within the Communion and the need for ECUSA to repent and comply with the Windsor Report.

February 2006 Susan Russell, President of Integrity USA, marries her lesbian partner, declaring beforehand that the action was “God willing and the primates notwithstanding.”

ECUSA General Convention 2006:

June 2006 The General Convention of the Episcopal Church met in Columbus, Ohio. (Follow the link for details and early fallout.) The GC response to the Windsor Report amounts to rejection and repudiation; elects heterodox Presiding Bishop that is fully committed to the revisionist path chosen by the Episcopal Church on issues of sex and morality. Eight dioceses request some form of alternative primatial relationship.

September 2006 The Global South Primates meeting at Kilgali, Rwanda, issue a communiqué that laments, “We deeply regret that, at its most recent General Convention, The Episcopal Church gave no clear embrace of the minimal recommendations of the Windsor Report.” but “We are, however, greatly encouraged by the continued faithfulness of the Network Dioceses and all of the other congregations and communities of faithful Anglicans in North America.” and “We are convinced that the time has now come to take initial steps towards the formation of what will be recognized as a separate ecclesiastical structure of the Anglican Communion in the USA.”

October 2006 The Presiding Bishop's chancellor, David Beers, writes letters threatening legal action against the dioceses of Fort Worth and Quincy.

November 2006 In an escalating environment of threats and persecution, Bishop Schofield of San Joaquin, pulls no punches in his response to the new Presiding Bishop, saying, in part, “The Episcopal Church, as an institution, is walking a path of apostasy and those faithful to God’s Word are forced to make painful choices.”

December 2006Nine Virginia congregations, including Truro and the Falls Church, vote to leave the Episcopal Church. Eight join CANA, the ninth accepting oversight from a global south primate. This brings the total number of congregations that have left the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia to 13, with another two having congregational votes coming up in January.

December 2006In a letter to the Primates, the Archbishop of Canterbury explains his rationale for not withholding an invitation for the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church to the Primates Meeting scheduled for February 14-19 in Tanzania, saying “I am also proposing to invite two or three other contributors from that Province for a session to take place before the rest of our formal business, in which the situation may be reviewed, and I am currently consulting as to how this is best organised.”

February 2007
At the Primates Meeting in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 14-19 February, the "Report of the Communion Sub-Group (on TEC's response to the Windsor Report)" was released on 15 February. The Report is a travesty that on clear reading states that TEC's response to the Windsor report meets the requirement. A comprehensive commentary on the Report was released on 17 February on Stand Firm in Faith.

Very late on 2/19, a communiqué was released from the primates of the Anglican Communion. You can find the entire communiqué HERE or HERE

The thrust of the communiqué is that it provides a short deadline, till September 30, 2007, for The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops confirm back to the Primates, that "the bishops will not authorise any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses or through General Convention," and "that the passing of Resolution B033 of the 75th General Convention means that a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent."

"If the reassurances requested of the House of Bishops cannot in good conscience be given, the relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as a whole remains damaged at best, and this has consequences for the full participation of the Church in the life of the Communion."

Also, to "respond pastorally and provide for those groups alienated by recent developments in the Episcopal Church," "the Primates will establish a Pastoral Council to act on behalf of the Primates in consultation with The Episcopal Church. This Council shall consist of up to five members: two nominated by the Primates, two by the Presiding Bishop, and a Primate of a Province of the Anglican Communion nominated by the Archbishop of Canterbury to chair the Council."

Details of these and other important recommendations are found in the communiqué and the accompanying schedule, named The Key Recommendations of the Primates.

For notable reactions and interpretations of the communiqué, and additional details, see the page Dar es Salaam communiqué.

March 2007The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church reject the Dar es Salaam communiqué - request urgent meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury/Primates Standing Committee.

Meeting at Camp Allen, Navasota, Texas, March 16-21, at the end of their deliberations on March 20, the House of Bishops issued strong rejections of the requests contained in the communiqué in a Mind of the House Resolution addressed to the Executive Council, a Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury and members of the Primates Standing Committee, and a Public Statement from the House of Bishops.

Strongly signaling its intentions to walk apart, the purpose of the proposed meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates Standing Committee may be to seek different terms of conformance, or to establish the terms of the divorce.